Bay, The (15)

Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

The critical consensus

It’s telling that the film doesn’t have anywhere near the impact, effectiveness or nuance that Steven Soderbergh’s glossy, similarly themed Contagion had, suggesting that, even though multiple-sourced footage remains a potentially interesting way to shoot a movie, using this particular framing device really has become redundant.

Opting for unknown actors (a must) and sparing use of special effects, it’s realistic, well executed and will satisfy those looking for a competent found-footage horror. Even if, truth be told, it’s hard to escape the feeling that we’ve seen this sort of thing many times before. The Bay, it seems, has come ten years too late.

While it's a good deal classier than most straight-to-DVD shaky-cam shockers and certainly worth a watch, The Bay is ultimately too much of a late-comer to the party to make much of a lasting impression.